Chapter 9 “Ties That Bind”

Chapter 9 “Ties That Bind”

Tadamichi stood in the filthy alley below, waiting on his brother. He knew Hyakuhei would come because he hadn’t left him a choice. He had not wanted it to come to this but their continued existence rested solely on his intervention. His dark eyes looked up, but for once, he was not happy to see Hyakuhei. He knew he had interrupted a very crucial moment… shifting the fates and causing his brother's anger.

Hyakuhei slowly but steadily walked down the wall toward his brother with only murder on his mind. Stopping about ten feet up, Hyakuhei tilted his head almost thoughtfully for a moment before abruptly pushing away from the brick.

Tadamichi braced himself against Hyakuhei’s descent but it was fruitless.

He felt his brother’s hand around his neck before the awareness of his back slamming into the wall behind him registered. It was then he became conscious of his feet dangling in the air. Hyakuhei was hovering in front of him, his dark hair and long coat dancing in the breeze.

Tadamichi’s breath caught in his throat at the presence of Hyakuhei’s beauty. It had always been this way.

“How dare you interfere with this once again?” Hyakuhei thundered, knowing he would be making love to her again if not for this interruption. “You have no right!”

Tadamichi could feel his brother’s fingers closing tight around his throat but in the face of that anger, he raised his hand and cupped Hyakuhei's cheek tenderly. “I have already told you dear brother… she is not yours. If you do not let her go, then you will awaken the fates and they will come for us.”

In many ways it was a lie… because he could barely think past his jealousy for the forbidden couple and above all else, that is what brought him here tonight.

“Let them come!” Hyakuhei screamed as his eyes reddened to the color of freshly spilt blood. “If it is evil they are out to destroy, then we both know exactly who it is they will come for. It is you who places our demons inside the humans… then you have the audacity to call them your children.”

Tadamichi’s tenderness vanished in the blink of an eye as he surged forward… slamming Hyakuhei against the other wall and causing debris to fly out in all directions. Both were balanced on thin air now, leverage was their companion in battles such as this. Hyakuhei pushed against him, tossing them both away from the wall and high into the night sky where they continued to tumble in a violent sibling rivalry.

“You are endangering those children you speak so lowly of and it is they who will be coming for you if you do not leave the priestess alone,” Tadamichi growled, throwing Hyakuhei away from him.

An evil tilt crept across the corner of his lip as he sadistically added, “They have already decided to help keep the two of you apart. But should they fail… maybe I will have to stop you after all, by putting both of us to sleep for another thousand years… she will be gone by the time we awaken.”

“It is you who is always wrapped up in your precious prophecies! Did you not notice… the wars are over?” Hyakuhei lunged for his brother with deadly intent just as Tadamichi vanished. His brother’s haunted voice returned to whisper within his mind one last warning.

“If you have heard nothing else I have tried to tell you, then remember this Hyakuhei… you cannot be permitted to force her to stay with you… it is forbidden.”

As the words echoed and died, Hyakuhei focused on his surroundings as over a dozen half-breeds appeared from the darkness. Some were floating close while others remained on the ground. He knew they were only a diversion but he had no choice other than to stay and fight them in light of Tadamichi’s words.

His brother had just declared war and Kyoko was right in the middle of it all.

“You want a fight brother?” Hyakuhei let his claws lengthen as his eyes began to bleed. “I’ll give you your fight.”

***** Kyoko finally stumbled into the Underground and stalked across the almost empty club. It was late and nearly everyone had gone home to sleep. She’d walked all the way home after making her way down from the roof and out of the vagrant-filled rundown building… cursing the demon for leaving her up there.

If he cared about her so much, the least he could’ve done was given her a ride home. She realized that was a very stupid argument since she had her cell phone in hand. She could have called Tasuki to come and get her. But after running out on him… she felt too guilty.

She ignored Amni’s concerned look and didn’t even see Tasuki sitting at the far end of the bar looking like someone had told him his sister was pregnant and didn’t know who the father was. She just couldn’t face anyone right now. All she wanted to do was crawl into her bed and hide under the covers till it all went away.

Yanking open the door leading upstairs, Kyoko stumbled up the stairs making as little noise as possible. It didn’t even dawn on her there was additional noise until she reached the top.

“Son of a…” she muttered seeing all the workers still there moving about. The only real problem she saw was they had moved from Tasuki’s apartment and into hers. “No, no… no,” she mumbled quietly, seeing she didn’t even have a sanctuary to hide in.

Leaning back against the wall, she slid to the floor and pulled her knees up. Resting her forehead on them, she wrapped her arms around her legs and let her shoes fall from her limp fingers. Moments later, she heard someone coming up the steps and she curled closer to the wall thinking it was one of the workers.

Her head jerked up when an arm hooked under her legs and one went around her back. She looked at Tasuki’s profile before letting her head fall against his chest in silent surrender.

Tasuki carried her down the hall almost smirking at some of the chuckling coming from the late night workmen. Opening the door to his (now Kyoko’s) apartment, Tasuki entered and placed Kyoko on the comfortable leather sofa. Going back to the door, he closed it and pulled a key out of his pocket. He locked the deadbolt from the inside and pocketed the key once more.

Kyoko watched him silently, her eyes widening when she saw he was locking her in with him. He went to the small closet next to the door and removed the staff they’d purchased back home and leaned it against the thick wood. The amethyst stones started to glow and a soft light swept across the room.

“What are you doing?” Kyoko demanded getting up from the sofa.

“I’m keeping out unwanted guests,” Tasuki explained hearing a muffled ‘Damn it!’ from the other side of the door.

“Was that Amni?” Kyoko asked narrowing her eyes at her long time best friend. She’d had enough of bullies for one night.

Tasuki turned back to her with his arms crossed over his chest and shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“Kyoko,” Amni shouted through the door. “Open up.”

“She’s not accepting visitors,” Tasuki exclaimed. “Call tomorrow during daylight hours.

“Kiss my ass!” Amni retorted. “Kyoko… I am hearing rumors that I think you should know about.” He laid his forehead against the door feeling the city calling to him. How long had it been since he felt the song of his master? Closing his eyes, Amni took a deep breath trying to ignore the sensation of lightheadedness and ecstasy that always accompanied the call.

Tadamichi was summoning his most powerful children… it was a summons he had to force himself not to answer.

Placing his hands on the wood barring him from her, Amni was almost thankful the barrier was there. Not only would it serve to bar him from entry, it would also bar his kind from getting to her. Kyoko may not have known it, but the vampire community in this city wasn’t completely aware of her. True, there were the stories that most merely believed were the vampire versions of the urban myths, but nothing was truly tangible.

If a war started over her, it wouldn’t be long before all of that was shown as a very real truth.

Tasuki couldn’t keep her in there forever. It would be only a matter of time before his master moved against Kyoko by either attempting to kill her or worse. His fear was that Tadamichi would try to turn her into one of his children.

Amni tilted his head back and closed his eyes listening to the sounds around him… the demons were already starting to gather. Pressing his forehead against the door one more time with a silent good night, Amni left deciding to investigate the city after all… even if it meant facing Tadamichi after all these years.

“Tasuki! Let him in,” Kyoko insisted, wanting to know what had Amni so worried. She could hear it in his voice and feel it in the goose bumps that were spreading across her skin. “I want to hear what he has to say.”

“No,” Tasuki’s amethyst eyes lit up as he stood between her and the door.

Kyoko took a step backward… away from him, her eyebrows shooting up into her bangs. “No?”

“No,” he echoed without remorse.

“Why not?” she asked, wondering why everyone was suddenly trying to control her. She’d never expected Tasuki to turn on her like this. “Tasuki?” Her voice softened as she tried to get through to him.

“I told you Kyoko, I don’t want any uninvited guests. Someone or something, that doesn’t want me here, very rudely interrupted us this evening. You’ve avoided every one of my questions and have been infuriatingly unrevealing about what exactly you’ve been doing these past months,” Tasuki accused with a slightly angry edge in his voice.

“We used to work together to bring down every vampire we came across and we’ve known each other since we were in pre-school. Considering the way you left home and the way your grandfather treated me when I asked why… I think I’m deserving of some honest answers.” The amethyst within his eyes looked almost alive as he stood his ground waiting for her response.

Kyoko slowly sat back down on the sofa, her eyes shining with hurt. She could tell Tasuki was hurting as well, but she hadn’t known he was in this much pain.

“Tasuki,” she whimpered. “I’m… I didn’t know.”

Tasuki sighed and combed his fingers through his dark hair before taking his jacket off and throwing it over the back of a leather chair. “I know you didn’t. But that’s the way you wanted it… right?”

“I left home to protect my family!” Kyoko thundered getting up from the sofa again. Guilt be damned, she wasn’t about to let him get away with talking to or treating her like she was the bad guy.

“What about me Kyoko?” Tasuki demanded heatedly, responding to her anger. “I’m not just some snotty rich kid that can’t tie his own shoes. I’ve gone home many a night covered in blood and goop just like you. I have the scars on my body to prove that I’ve fought beside you and you suddenly think that you can’t trust me with the truth of what your life is like? What have you done that’s so bad Kyoko? Did you sleep with one of them or something?”

Kyoko froze and stared at him fearfully, her mouth opened but no words came out.

Tasuki’s eyes widened at her silence and he inadvertently took a step back from her. He could almost feel his heart spilling out on the floor in front of him it hurt so badly. She didn’t have to say it… he could see it in her eyes.

“Tasuki, you don’t understand...” Kyoko exclaimed, tears escaping from her eyes. “I got this letter from Grandpa… he said that I had to lose my virginity so the vampires couldn’t sense me coming… I had too many drinks… and I gave myself to a stranger.” She couldn’t help the fact that she was rambling like an insane person because at the moment she felt completely BENT.

She took a step toward him and he backed away from her further. “Please Tasuki… don’t--“

“Don’t what?” Tasuki asked quietly. “Don’t ignore the fact that you could’ve called me to help you with this? Don’t look at you any differently? I can’t do either Kyoko.”

He looked toward the window and narrowed his eyes as something caught his attention. “I won’t ignore you the way you ignored me Kyoko. I know you came to the city to kill them… not become one.” The muscles in his jaws worked frantically as he clenched his teeth together to keep from pitching the fit he wanted to pitch after the confession she’d just laid on him.

Kyoko sank to the floor and hugged her arms around herself, slowly rocking back and forth. “Now he won’t leave me alone,” she admitted. “At first, I didn’t remember because I had been drinking... but now I remember everything. I see him everywhere. And the other night… he saved me when he could’ve let them kill me. No, he has saved me twice.” Her lips parted knowing it was true.

Tasuki suddenly stalked up to her and pulled her up by the arms. “Vampires don’t give a damn about humans Kyoko. You taught me that!”

Kyoko looked up at him with tear streaked cheeks. “Some of them do Tasuki. Amni cares. He…”

“Is he the one?” Tasuki asked as his grip on her tightened. The image of the fair-haired pretty boy shot through his mind like a knife in the heart.

Kyoko shook her head, “No, but he helped me get patched up many times including that night you called.”

“The night I called you?” Tasuki asked softly, remembering his own panic that night. “What exactly happened to you Kyoko?”

“I was ambushed while on the phone with you. There were too many of them… they wanted… then the other vampire… he saved me though I didn’t know it at the time. I even tried to kill him but my spirit dart lost its power somehow. Amni helped me when I got home.” She paused realizing it had all happened within the last twenty-four hours.

“Amni doesn’t kill. He doesn’t even drink directly from humans.” She tried to smile but her bottom lip trembled, “The Red Cross delivers to him every week… and I trust him.”

Tasuki frowned feeling jealous tendencies toward the way she talked so softly about Amni, “So your perception of vampires in general has been blown all to hell.”

Kyoko smiled sadly. “Only on a couple of occasions,” She admitted. “Just like humans… some vampires are evil and some are like Amni.”

Tasuki wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Why didn’t you wait for me? Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because I love you Tasuki,” Kyoko said with no hesitation. “I couldn’t bring you into this and risk getting you killed.”

Tasuki smiled feeling his tattered heart start to swell, “You love me huh?”

Kyoko’s bottom lip started to quiver again. She wasn’t lying… and she needed to latch on to the love she had always felt for Tasuki to keep herself away from… she blinked back tears realizing she still didn’t know his name. “I do.”

“It’s about time you admitted it,” Tasuki whispered and touched his lips to hers in a gentle caress.

***** Hyakuhei retracted his claws, having destroyed most of the half-breeds his brother had unleashed on him. The others he’d eluded in order to make sure Kyoko had made it home safely. Lifting off the ground, he hovered outside her window growling when he saw a number of men in work uniforms moving about inside her apartment.

His eyes narrowed as he looked to the side seeing the light on in the next room and smelling salt… Kyoko was crying.

Within seconds she was within his sights but what he seen made his anger return full force. The human was taking advantage of her by kissing her while tears still streamed down her cheeks. He vanished then reappeared in the same spot after finding some kind of invisible wall in his way. He glared through the window knowing if he had gotten in… the boy would now be breathing through his neck.

The windows in the apartment started to rattle and the glasses along with various glass pieces of furnishings started to tremble. Tasuki slowly pulled away from Kyoko and stared out the window with an almost devious look on his face.

“Just a moment,” he said and walked over to the window to stand facing the man who thought he had stolen Kyoko away from him. Their eyes clashed in a heated battle as Tasuki reached for the thick curtains. So… if it wasn’t Amni she had slept with… it must be tall dark and creepy then.

Something inside him told him that this one wasn’t sweet and innocent like she claimed Amni was… this one was dangerous on more than one level.

Kyoko cringed as she watched the glass around her dance and knew just who’d gotten Tasuki’s attention. She turned, still wiping her cheeks and looked out the window, gasping when she saw her stalker standing only a foot from it. Her lips parted knowing they were on the third floor so that was impossible.

Her shocked expression turned sober when Tasuki pulled the thick curtains closed… blocking the vampire’s view of the interior of the apartment.

“Look at that, asshole!” Tasuki exclaimed triumphantly.

“You do know that he can get in here very easily.” Kyoko informed him remembering when he’d come to her in the shower. She whimpered as she tried again to push the memory of him away and replace it with Tasuki’s image. This is where she needed to be… not with him… with Tasuki.

“I’d like to see him try to get in here,” Tasuki challenged feeling like he had just claimed a small victory over his rival. “You see that staff?”

Kyoko looked at it leaning innocently against the door. “What about it?”

“I learned a few of its secrets after you left and found out I have a few abilities of my own,” Tasuki explained. “The staff is actually a psychic conductor of sorts. It channels my natural psychic abilities and creates barriers. I did some research in my family ancestry and found out we come from a line of magic users that date back at least one thousand years. I also found out the name on the staff was the name of the very first user recorded.”

“Shinbe?” Kyoko asked feeling a tingle shoot through her at the mention of the name. “How do you know it’s the same person?”

“I don’t and unfortunately none of my family knows either. It’s just something we’ll never have the answer to I suppose.” Tasuki glanced back to the staff and the amethyst stone that rested at one end… he knew but just couldn’t prove it.

“Well,” Kyoko whispered. “I mean… wow!”

Tasuki nodded, “That was my reaction too. Since you left, I’ve been honing my natural ability without the use of the staff and found I can cast barriers on my own. I’m still learning to control it but I haven’t had a chance to test it in a fight. I can however use it to keep out the… undesirables?”

Kyoko arched an eyebrow, “And who would you consider undesirable?”

“The peeping tom outside that’s trying to burst every piece of glass in here is definitely one of them.” Tasuki flinched when the crystal lamp next to them actually crunched and became a couple inches shorter. He looked over his shoulder at the closed curtain and frowned thoughtfully. “You know… I’m beginning to think he can hear what I’m saying.”

Ignoring the way the glass began to shake even more, he continued, “I don’t like him… The verdict is still out on Amni,” Tasuki finished.

Kyoko felt the sudden urge to defend her stalker to him but the mood was broken when her cell phone started ringing and she looked down at the caller ID. Tasuki walked up and gently took the phone from her hand. He flipped it open and winked at Kyoko, turning on the speaker so she could hear it.

“Good evening Mr. Hogo,” Tasuki answered with a huge smile.

“Who are you and where’s Kyoko? I’ve been trying to reach her for a couple days now!” Grandpa Hogo yelled.

Tasuki held the phone away at arm’s length wondering if his hair was moving from the high pitch sound. “Mr. Hogo, it’s Tasuki. Kyoko is resting at the moment,” Tasuki informed him.

“Tasuki? What the hell are you doing there?” Grandpa Hogo demanded with an unseen smile.

“Why... I received your ‘anonymous’ note of course,” Tasuki stated. “You know, the one you left in my mailbox?”

Kyoko had her mouth covered with both hands trying to keep her laughter silent. She wasn’t really mad at her grandpa but she did have to admit he deserved what Tasuki was giving him.

“I did no such thing.” Grandpa Hogo had the decency to sound indignant.

“Well, whether you did or not is irrelevant,” Tasuki stated and sent Kyoko a wink. “I have arrived at Kyoko’s and we moved in together after having a hot and steamy night. That virginity problem of hers is a thing of the past. I must say Mr. Hogo… Kyoko is quite a woman.”

“Who the hell do you think you are, speaking of my granddaughter that way?” the elder demanded loudly.

“I’m her future husband Mr. Hogo,” Tasuki stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Fear not, soon you will have many great grandchildren to fill up the house again.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Grandpa Hogo raged and the line went dead.

Kyoko’s wide-eyed expression matched Tasuki’s.

“Uh oh!” they said in unison.

***** Grandpa Hogo slammed the phone down and started tearing through the house gathering up various personal belongings. Tama, hearing the noise, stuck his head in his grandpa’s bedroom door with a frown.

“What’s wrong Grandpa?” he asked.

“Pack a bag Tama, I’m taking you to see Kyoko,” Grandpa Hogo informed him.

Tama thrust his fist in the air. “YES!”

***** Tadamichi stepped back into his chambers. Every nerve within him felt like it was on fire, still tingling from the feel of his brother’s touch. He was drawn to his twin brother for many reasons but one of them was because it was the closest he would ever come to being able to love himself.

Slowly disrobing, he pulled a long silk robe over his shoulders and tied it loosely at the waist, then slowly brushed his long ebony locks until they shown. Gripping the crystal-handled brush in a moment of fury, Tadamichi threw it at the wall, silently watching it shatter.

Pouring himself a glass of red wine, Tadamichi forced himself to sip it leisurely, rather than gulp it down as he truly wanted. Hyakuhei had been right about one thing. If the guardians broke through the seal… they would come after him first. That was the biggest difference between him and Hyakuhei.

The fates had written the laws eons ago and Tadamichi had broken every one of them, while Hyakuhei remained unaware of the laws, yet unknowingly abided by them of his own desire.

The first and most important law stated that the demons of this world were not to spread their seed among the humans. Feeding from a human was one thing… as long as you did not kill them, but to turn them was forbidden. In order to infect them, you must seed them with a demon, turning them into half-breeds.

This was a taboo that the masters of all races of demons had avoided for centuries before Tadamichi’s thirst for power and family made the ancient laws obsolete. The guardians had been the keepers of those ancient laws.

In order to maintain the realm he had created, he knew he would have to keep Hyakuhei and the priestess separated so the guardians would not look his way. Whether Tadamichi wanted it or not, he was now at war with his beloved brother. Unfortunately, he was also faced with the dilemma of keeping the priestess safe and out of the way of their sibling warfare.

He mentally chuckled though it held no humor. How ironic that he was now in the same position they once were. His gaze strayed to the statues. He wondered if subconsciously… he had not started the family of half-breeds hoping the priestess would show up in this world to try to stop him. He had missed her that much… but his subconscious hadn’t figured on the fact that she would meet his brother before coming face to face with her true target.

“Yuuhi,” Tadamichi motioned to the boy who stood in front of the statues once again. Yuuhi had grown quite attached to the staring contest he’d been having with the innate guardians. “I want you to keep watch over the girl.”

Yuuhi didn’t look away from the statue of Kamui. “Sire… am I to protect her as they used to do?” the haunted childlike voice asked.

“How do you know they protected her?” Tadamichi closed the distance between them in an instant and placed his hand on the boys shoulder as he looked into Kamui’s eyes, seeing the tears had stopped for the time being.

“He told me,” Yuuhi whispered.

Tadamichi’s hand tightened on Yuuhi’s shoulder for a moment while fear rushed through him. He pushed it down deep inside his soul and answered the underling, “You will not have to protect her… only keep watch over her so I can use your sight and know if her… lover returns.”

Yuuhi’s lips parted slightly to show the most wicked of fangs. “Even now, he watches her through the glass… but a spell keeps him from touching her… it will not endure their yearning.” Yuuhi’s image shivered as he disappeared from the room.

Tadamichi remained staring at Kamui in the same fashion Yuuhi had just done. Yuuhi had the sight to see beyond what most could… it was his reason for turning one so young. To know that Kamui had spoken to the boy left Tadamichi with the enigma of just how weak the seal around the guardians had become.

‘Or were you always that powerful?’ Tadamichi silently asked the young guardian. ‘If given enough incentive… would you be able to break the magic that holds you and your brothers Kamui? Are you indeed as powerful as your sire?’ Tadamichi shook his head before cupping Kamui’s cracked cheek. “If you were… we will never know… will we?” He asked aloud.

Amni stood silently in his sire’s doorway watching him and fighting the urge to leave before his presence was discovered. Closing his eyes, he exhaled silently when he saw Kyoko’s face behind his eyelids, allowing him to gain courage from the vision. True fear raced through his body when he opened his eyes and saw Tadamichi standing only inches from him.

“Sire,” Amni whispered and bowed his head in respect.

Tadamichi’s expression softened and he reached out his hand to lift Amni’s chin, “What is it little one?” he asked quietly, brushing his fingers across Amni’s skin.

Tadamichi missed Amni more than he would ever admit. The boy had been his first child. He’d done many things in the past to keep Amni happy… including giving him his freedom. This boy’s heart was so like Hyakuhei's… it was one of the things that had drawn him to the stunning blonde.

Amni knew what he wanted to say before entering the caverns… but now, in the face of his master, his thoughts had scattered, rendering him speechless. Tadamichi always had that effect on him and some part of him always welcomed it. He was aware of Tadamichi’s madness, but he could also feel his kindness and sorrow hidden away.

He always returned to his master’s side at one point or another. It was the craving to be close to one’s sire that always won in the end. His thoughts were still twisting, confusing him. Finally, he was able to whisper a single name. “Kyoko.”

Tadamichi removed his hand and stepped to the side, indicating for Amni to come in. He could feel the desire for the woman radiating from his child, along with the sadness that usually accompanied such sensations. It appeared Kyoko had more than one admirer within the vampire realm… interesting, and very destabilizing.

His eyes narrowed on the underling with the sudden urge to kill him. He forcefully pushed it away even as he felt the jealousy for the boy’s closeness to the priestess when he… the one who truly loved her, was not allowed such intimacy.

Amni stepped into the room and looked around. It had been a long time since he’d entered Tadamichi’s underground palace. He remembered the many nights he had been allowed to sleep here… it was one of the few places Amni had felt truly safe. That was before he saw the outside world and wanted to be part of it. Tadamichi had shown his generosity by letting him have the freedom he craved.

As much as he hated to admit it… he’d missed his sire, but he would never say it out loud.

Entering the chamber, Amni was startled and a bit spooked when voices started echoing within the room. He backed up a step, his back meeting Tadamichi’s chest directly behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he met Tadamichi’s gaze and frowned wondering if his sire could or could not hear them.

Tadamichi placed a hand on Amni’s shoulder to hold him in place. The fingers of his other hand tipped Amni’s head back further while his lips lowered to brush against the young man’s cheek. His expression took on an almost seductive quality the blonde was helpless to resist. Why was Tadamichi placing him within the thrall?

“Tell me about Kyoko,” Tadamichi prompted, relishing the look on Amni’s face. It was a vision of rebellion and longing all wrapped into one.

Amni wanted to groan at the sensations that suddenly flowed through his body. He could feel Tadamichi’s thrall wrapping around him in orgasmic ribbons and tried fighting against them. He wanted to be in control of his own mind and body, but the thrall was ageless and very powerful. It didn’t matter how long he’d stayed away… it would never lose its power over him and Tadamichi knew it.

Amni distantly heard his voice betraying him, joining the voices within the room… spilling his heart and revealing every detail he knew about Kyoko. Tears formed in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks when Tadamichi lowered them to the floor with Amni kneeling. The hand on Amni’s shoulder crept upward; cupping the side of his long neck and tipping his head back further to better see his face.

“You are in love with her,” Tadamichi accused as his fingertips buried themselves in the boy’s long blonde hair. The ebony haired demon leaned down until his lips were barely touching the shell of Amni’s ear. “Yes… you wish to claim her for your own. I can taste your desire for her,” Tadamichi continued and parted his lips ever so slightly as though to truly taste the memory of it.

He knew Amni would never let any harm befall Kyoko and decided to use this to his advantage.

Rising to his feet, Tadamichi released Amni from his hold but continued to grip him in his power. Amni stumbled to his feet wanting nothing more than to run from this place and back to the security of his home. However, he knew it was beyond his ability to truly run from Tadamichi… he could still feel the hold of his sire’s dark power writhing all around him in bondage.

“There is a human who believes he has a claim on her,” Amni said breathlessly. “I know she loves him but it is without passion. And your twin brother… he desires her and has become her stalker.”

“Hyakuhei cannot have her… it is forbidden.” Tadamichi’s words sounded like a threat as they left his lips. “They, nor I, will allow it.”

Amni’s eyes flew to the statues when their whispers became louder. “Does that mean I cannot have her either?” He cried in anguish and fell to his knees once more. “I want to keep her safe but I feel the unrest within the city and fear she has caused it somehow.”

Tadamichi knelt in front of his distraught child and folded his arms around the blonde, rocking him back and forth. He made quiet shushing sounds, trying to return Amni to his previous calm.

A plan began to form while he consoled him. Amni was very powerful as the first chosen could only be, but his kind heart had locked that dangerous power away. Tadamichi knew all it needed was to be unleashed… and for that, the proper incentive needed to be placed.

Pulling back, he locked his gaze on the bluest eyes he’d ever seen… it was another reason Tadamichi had chosen Amni as his first child.

“If you wish for the opportunity to claim her… you must do what you have never done.” Tadamichi’s hands untied the sash around his waist and let the silk robe slip from his upper body. He reached up and pulled his long ebony hair away from his left shoulder, baring one side of his neck. “Drink from me Amni. Take this power I am offering you and claim what is rightfully yours.”

Amni inhaled loudly and parted his lips but didn’t come closer. He hadn’t tasted blood straight from the vein in so long that he had forgotten its intoxication. He’d banished the thought long ago to keep himself from killing mortals. His fangs grew long, peeking out ever so slightly as he fought the urge knowing he wouldn’t win. If his master wanted this, it was useless to fight.

He pulled himself closer to his master and grazed the skin waiting for the reprimand to come from Tadamichi. Amni knew Tadamichi let no one drink from him… not even Yuuhi. A vision of Kyoko smiling up at him appeared in his mind and, in an act of desperation… he sank his fangs deep into Tadamichi’s flesh.

Tadamichi flinched slightly at the intrusion but did not push Amni away. Instead, he placed a hand on the back of his child’s head and held him in place. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

Just on the very edge of his hearing, he could barely make out the sound of screaming, angry voices. Opening eyes that were now blacker then midnight, Tadamichi looked at the statue of Kyou and smirked. He was doing them a favor by giving more power to Amni… they should be grateful he was even making the attempt to stop Hyakuhei.

Taking one more deep breath, he wove his fingers into Amni’s blonde hair once more and gently pulled him away. The expression on Amni’s face was one of complete euphoria. Tadamichi smiled before rising to his feet and walking across the room to his bed. He felt drained by giving blood to Amni but refused to say anything because he’d also felt Amni’s memories flow into him… memories of being Kyoko’s friend.

Amni rose slowly to his feet, his whole body trembling with something he’d never felt before. Lifting his gaze to his now slumbering sire, Amni quickly turned and ran from the room. He rushed through the caverns both elated and disgusted with himself. However, the disgust did not linger long just as he knew it wouldn’t.

Amni made his way above ground and into the Grand Hotel lobby. Looking around, he noticed how much sharper everything appeared, the colors and lighting much brighter than before. He could hear the city outside… hear every voice speaking, dog barking, feet moving.

Walking to the entrance, he stared up at the night sky and raised his hand to draw it across his lips… wiping away the evidence of his desperation.